Solid Waste & Recycling FAQs

FAQs

Can I recycle old photographs?

Photo paper is heavily treated with chemicals and therefore isn't accepted in the recycling program. Photos can be disposed of in your household garbage.

How do I dispose of a boat or camper?

Campers may be disposed of at the nearest landfill (not transfer station). Fridges must be removed prior to disposal, and a bulky rate fee of $160/ton will be charged at the scale.

How do I dispose of an old mattress?

Old mattresses may be disposed of at refuse disposal facilities in the appropriate designated area. Mattresses are collected for recycling and shipped to Re-Matt in Calgary, where they are disassembled. The metal, wood, and foam are recycled, only the fabric cover is disposed of as trash. http://www.btcalgary.ca/videos/4710172043001/

How do I dispose of asphalt driveway sealer?

Check when the next hazardous waste round up will be in your community or allow the contents to harden and dispose of the container in the landfill. Residents in Revelstoke can dispose of all hazardous waste in the hazardous waste collection depot at the Revelstoke Landfill.

How do I dispose of fiberglass insulation?

Fiberglass insulation is disposed of as garbage, either in your garbage can at the curb or at the landfill.

How do I dispose of landscape ties?

Landscape ties may be disposed of at your nearest refuse disposal facility at the garbage rate of $80/ton. Due to the possibility of large spikes being in the ties, they cannot be placed in the wood bin; they must be disposed of as garbage.

How do I dispose of lighting ballasts?

Light ballasts require special handling and are included in the Light Recycle Extended Producer Responsibility Program. Bills Bottle Depot and the Revelstoke Bottle Depot MAY take them, depending on the date of manufacture. If you have older ballasts, or large quantities, please arrange collection through the Product Care Association.

How do I dispose of noxious weeds?

Noxious weeds or soil contaminated with noxious weeds must be disposed of in the garbage rather than the organic waste pile, and will be charged the garbage disposal rate of $80/ton. The Columbia Shuswap Invasive Species Society webpage has valuable information to assist in the identification of noxious and invasive weed species.

How do I dispose of oil, oil containers or oil filters?

Oil products are not permitted at refuse disposal facilities, with the exception of the oil drop off depot located at the Revelstoke Landfill. Oil is part of a Provincial recycling program, please check the Provincial Take-Back Program page to find the nearest depot.

How do I dispose of old books?

Books (both hard and soft cover) are not accepted in the residential recycling collection program. The following locations have a separate recycling option for residents looking to recycle books:

The CSRD is working to get book recycling programs in place in Revelstoke and Golden.

How do I dispose of old light bulbs and old Christmas lights?

Lights are part of a Provincial Take back program. Please check the Provincial Take-Back Program page to find the depot nearest you. If there is no depot, hang onto your lights until the next recycling round up event in your community.

What can I do with items such as CD's, VHS tapes, DVD's, floppy disks, and other types of "storage media"?

If these items are ready for recycling, they can be taken to an Encorp electronics recycling depot. This recycling program includes items such as CD's, DVD's, floppy disks, flash drives, VHS tapes, and vinyl records. Cases for these items are included in the recycling program as well, provided that the cases are brought with the storage media items themselves.

What do I do with Auto Tires?

Vehicle tires are not permitted at refuse disposal sites. Most tire retailers will accept old tires, or visit Tire Stewardship BC to find the nearest recycling drop off location.

What do I do with my old electronics and small appliances?

Virtually all items that plug in are part of a return to depot program administered by the provincial government. Please see the Provincial Take-Back Program page to select the item you wish to recycle and locate the nearest depot.

What do I do with old paint and empty paint cans?

Paint containers with lids and labels, both full or empty, are part of a provincial take back program and therefore prohibited to be disposed of at refuse disposal facilities, with the exception of the paint drop off located at the Revelstoke Landfill. To find the nearest drop off depot, visit ReGeneration.

Containers without lids or labels may either be disposed of in the landfill, provided the paint is completely dried out (do this by leaving the lid off in the sun, or by mixing the paint with sawdust), or taken to the hazardous waste collection depot at the Revelstoke Landfill.

What do I do with plastic bags?

Place plastic bags in the FILM PLASTIC receptacle at your nearest recycling depot - they are not to be placed in your curbside collection container or bag. Garbage bags, blue recycling bags, ZIPLOC (or similar) brand sandwich/freezer bags, chip bags, waxed cereal liners and shrink wrap for meat and cheese are NOT accepted for recycling and should be placed in your garbage.

ZIPLOC (or similar) brand sandwich/freezer bags, garbage bags, and recycling bags are not accepted because, under the definition of Packaging and Printed Paper, these items were not purchased at the store with items INSIDE them and therefore are not a PACKAGE.

Chip bags, waxed cereal liners, and shrink wrap for meat and cheese are not accepted because the type of material used for these products is non recyclable.

What do I do with styrofoam?

Styrofoam packaging is accepted at CSRD recycling depots as of January 2015. Colored and white styrofoam must be separated into separate bins at the depots. An example of a colored styrofoam item is a colored meat tray. Squishy foam and foam wrap is not accepted as recycling and should be disposed of as refuse.

Where do I dispose of pesticides?

All pesticides may be disposed of at the Revelstoke Landfill in the hazardous waste collection depot. Pesticides with labels that contain the skull and crossbone symbol and a pesticide registration number may be returned to Bills Bottle Depot in Salmon Arm. All other pesticides without the symbol and registration number will be accepted at the next hazardous waste round up in your area.

Where do I take large and small propane tanks?

Propane tanks, including disposable cylinders, may be dropped off at your nearest refuse disposal facility for recycling at the disposal rate of $35/ton, or $3 per bag. Propane tanks are dangerous to equipment operators and should never be placed in the garbage.

Why does recycling need to be sorted at the drop off depot?

The CSRD has partnered with Recycle BC, a Stewardship agency appointed by the Province of BC to collect all packaging and printed paper in BC. Recycle BC requires the material to be sorted at the source, reducing the amount of contamination of products at the processor.

Why is yard waste disposal only free for six weeks in the spring and six weeks in the fall?

The CSRD Board of Directors authorizes 12 weeks of free disposal per year. We feel six weeks in the spring and fall is appropriate to capture a good portion of residentially generated yard and garden material. Yard and garden waste is ground, composted, screened, and hauled to our landfills and transfer stations to be sold. These activities have costs associated with them and the compost sales don't generate enough revenue to cover the operational costs. The composting program is funded through user fees not through taxation as is the case in some other regional districts, so providing free year round disposal of yard waste would result in cost increases elsewhere to fund the management of the material.